What’s Greg McGarity thinking this morning? A month into the job and he’s had the hottest of hot potatoes drop into his lap. And as somebody who got to witness the Rise and Fall of the Zooker up close, the irony of last night’s venue can’t have been lost on him.

How do you get a delay of game penalty when you’re in the hurry up offense?

What genius at Fox thought it was a good idea to put a microphone in front of the grammatically challenged Tim Couch?

How badly is Cam Newton going to carve up this defense running the ball?

Speaking of which, MSU threw the ball a mere fourteen times and Kwame Geathers doesn’t see the field once?

Can it really be so simple as to trace things back to Van Gorder leaving, or is there more to it?

This has been sad to watch and the attitude of total resignation means that this year is going to get much worse.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a guy or two transfer. AJ might come up with a “hamstring pull” next week and wind up not playing this season.

There is a thin line between giving kids a chance to become men by learning from their mistakes and flat-out enabling them to be out of control. Unfortunately, CMR crossed the line to enabler some time ago, and once the inmates know they are running the asylum, it is over, and it cannot be gotten back. He had one last chance at respect, but failed to kick Ealey off the team when he should have, and from that point the kids have simply stopped listening altogether.

For the third straight weeks the Dawgs have made a middle- or lower-tier SEC program feel like a million bucks. New lease on life. In the case of Chris Relf, a nobody into a somebody. The folks at Vandy are now reassuring themselves “If we can just hold on till Georgia, everything will be fine…”

Miss State is low tier no doubt about it and losing to them is a complete embarassment but based on what I saw yesterdayI don’t think Arkansas and South Carolina are too bad, they’d probably beat 90% of the teams in D I.

It doesn’t blow, but given the resources available at UGA, ANYONE should be able to win 8 a year. That’s 66%. One more is 75%. So one more win than what most people agree is pretty much a given at UGA. Do we really believe Richt is the only coach in America that can get that 1 extra win a year?

* You know Greg McGarity is thinking it is time to implement “Plan B”. There is no Charlie Strong on this staff, so it is time to get another contract with a search firm. You know he can negotiate a two-for-one discount by adding a baseball coach to the contract.
* You get a delay of game penalty in the hurry up offense when your head coach is so laid back, the rest of the world runs twice as fast.
* You get Bob Rathbun and Tim Couch when you are playing for last place against another winless team.
* You worry more about what our O-Line is going to do to Aaron Murray than anything Cam Newton could do.
* You know Kwame Geathers must be in Coach Garner’s dog house and you know Coach Garner is untouchable.
* You know the approach to the punt return team is the same as the rest of the team. Aggressiveness and pressure is so 2005. We are above that now.

Im concerned McGarity, like UGA administrators of the past, will be more concerned with image than doing now what must be done eventually. Just because he served under Foley, doesntmean he has Foleys sense of urgency. In fact, by appearance he seems to have a very different personality than Foley. I fear we will again see things done “the Georgia Way” a/k/a making sure no matter what the people at the top look good.

Actually the schedule is a trip across country to play a 2-1 Colorado team at their place when they have arranged their schedule so that THEY had an extra week off to prepare for UGA. Colorado is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of its 1990 MNC team and is having the celebration at halftime of the UGA-CO game. They have invited all the 1990 team back as well as their national championship coach Coach Bill McCartney. Once again DE stepped in sh!t with his “branding” strategy. This is the Oklahoma State fiasco all over again at a time when the UGA program is at its weakest. Damon Evans, gone but not forgotten. Thank goodness for red panties.

What type of AD is McGarity? Does anyone outside of Adams and UF know what type of AD he will become? One would have to believe that Richt and the players behavior keeps him awake at night, but who knows!?

In the FBI, they say follow the money and it will tell you all you need to know. Is this happening now at UGA?

What I do know, is the volume of mail received by me, asking for more contributions, leads makes me to believe that there is worry upon the Athletic department as to Alumni and friends charitable giving.

Last week I even received a phone call asking me to give more. That has not happened in my 32 years of giving. This giving is not economy related, and only for (I assume), those that contibute the most to the development funds for the Athletic Department.

I state to this individual (who shall remain nameless), that I wanted to speak to McGarity before any more is given by me. I still await the phone call and will let your readers know if the call is returned.

But as a fan and proud Graduate of the University of Georgia, I am sickened to see what is happening to our once proud Football team. Sorry but money will not be given unless changes are made.

The most amazing thing about the punt returns (I’m way numb to the fair catches by now) is that when the other team kicks from mid-field, our players literally stand around. No attempt at blocking the kick or the punting team’s players are made. The coaching orders are, literally, just stand there and don’t get a penalty. I noticed this last game and it was readily apparent this game. If you think I’m exaggerating, go watch the replay.

I do not know what has happened to Richt since 2004, but something has. The trouble now is that he’s an offensive minded coach. Firing Martinez made sense and never did we think he was calling the defensive plays. Bobo is his pupil and still under the thumb of Richt. For Richt to fire Bobo would be like Saban firing Kirby Smart. It simply wouldn’t make any sense.

I know many will disagree, but I did not see a team lose last night because of players loafing. I saw an offense that was pushed around (looking right at you, Josh Davis) like it has been all year. I saw a team where running backs go down at the first tackle. I saw a weak team with no offensive coaching, no identity, and no swagger. I cannot help but feeling like Richt looks back at his FSU years and early UGA days and says, “we’re doing everything the same as we did then.” He just doesn’t realize that’s the problem.

It’s time for Marc Richt and Georgia to part ways in the near future. Whether that should be at the end of this year or the next is up for debate. Nothing makes me sadder than typing that.

Or it’s apparent that he was a major part of the great D they’ve been having. I think it’s silly to blame the D. They held SC to 3pts in second half, they got Arkansas three and out giving O the chance to win and kept MS from scoring til the fourth quarter. On the other hand, O keeps turning over the ball, can’t establish run, can’t manage playclock… and most importantly can’t score TDs. Bobo said it well, it’s him that’s to blame. Got no game plan nor real program, just relying on talent all day long.

I almost don’t even give a damn what McGarity, or Richt, or the players, etc., do at this point. We’ve fallen completely off the map, and it’ll be AT LEAST a few years before we’re back in conversations about SEC contenders. I don’t think anyone in the program has the balls to make serious mid-season changes; nor do I really believe that any mid-season changes would make much of a difference at this point.

Aaron Murray, Kris Durham, and a couple guys on defense look like the only people in this football program who hadn’t already conceded the season before last night’s game. I honestly will not be surprised if we lose our next 5 games, and finish the season either 2-10 or 3-9.

I’ve got loose affiliations with a couple other programs that I guess I can follow for the rest of the season. And I’m looking forward to basketball season.

WTF bro??? Have you finally lost it? Harbaugh has only coached one season in D-IA and only won 8 games in the weak-ass PAC-10, the same amount that you are pissed off at Richt for only winning last year. Before that he was a coach at a D-IAA school with 7,000 students, the University of San Diego (not to be confused with San Diego State). His 2 years there were 7-4 and 11-1. The guy has only had 1 good season and you want to hire HIM! Forget it! Patterson, he might be okay, though. Now let’s go get another beer and watch the NFL game, my brother.

I actually agree that Leach should not be HC but when exactly did we start hiring HCs based on whether or not they would be socially acceptable to the alums? that’s the problem right there. The ONLY issue should be winning games.

Defense: Too tired at the end?
Both D squads pretty much faced the same number of plays.
Both squads pretty much faced the same number of possessions from the opposing offenses.
MSU used 23 players [throw out their QB tackle] with 37 solo tackles and 29 assists. Probably says this…good defensive game plan, a full roster of ready players…results…opposing offense gets 2 FG. At the 12:45 mark of the 4th Qtr the game for all purposes was over.
UGA used 17 players with 40 solo tackles and 8 assists…new scheme, not a full roster, players not fully on board with scheme…results barring turnovers by opposing offense…may have trouble stopping teams in the 2nd half.
First 3 SEC games; 1st faced an O scheme with a veteran line, QB, and a good O line coach and offensive HC who more than likely has a good plan of attack…on the road who had spent spring and fall gettting ready for you. Pretty much a balanced passing and running attack. 2nd faced a mature offense with a very good HC with good O sets and a 1st rd NFL QB. They had spring and fall to prepare as this was actually their real first game. Pretty much a passing game offense. 3rd SEC game and 2nd on the road. Facing the spread offense for the first time and this is why you went to the 3-4. For the most part you did well until the last five minutes of the 3 qtr. You gave a quick easy first drive TD…expected on the road against a spread offense…with a big mobile QB. At the 10 minute mark of the 3rd MSU starts at its 20 leading by 1 pt. They reel off 54 yds in 14 plays with 3 on the board. Point wise not bad, because MSU is a much better team than their record and what most believe and understand. There is a reason they play better in the 2nd half. Unfortunatley, Jeff Mullen now understands that his game plan and adjustments are working. He has been here before at Florida and has a QB much in the physical style of Tebow. He does not need a FB or RB to block…in the spread his QB is his FB and his RB. He is one up on you on that side of the ball as to the point of attack [see the ill advised 8 in the box mindset because there is simply noway in hell you can get 8 players at the point of attack or pay the consequences.]
Now that MSU’st D has held you to one O possession and even though UGA’s D has flipped the field, his coaching staff and O starts at their own 7 yd line and proceeds to reel off 93 yds in 10 plays around the 4.5 minute mark of the 4th. His O plan and entire scheme is built around this QB [even though he has used 2 at times this season, now he know what he has] as long as this QB produces positive yds, plays, and no turnovers they win.

The spread offense from UF to MSU. The spread wears down a D because it forces D players to be isolated, to run more to be in position to make the play, and players can not make a mistake in position or assignment are it will be a big play.
Defense: 3 new coaches putting in a scheme with not a complete roster and facing 3 very good and different offensive sets and personnel.

Let’s see where they go after 3 football games. The first was a scrimmage game, but it gave some clues about this squad. We felt that UGA would drop their first 3 SEC games. Two on the road, all 3 opponents more improved than what most thought, all three with different offensive systems, and lack of a roster from spring to fall to first game.

Why are there not more players ready and available on the D side. Late into the recruiting.

Colorado will be the test for where the D is at and where they may go the balance of the season. They have seen most of what the opposing teams offer, except GT with a spread option.

Why did CMR around the 3-4 minute mark of the fourth go it on the Dawgs 21 yd line on 4th? Easy 7 for MSU. 17 – 6 looked better from a D standpoint. Why burn those guys? On the whole they had kept you in the game. If your O can play consistently and productively for 4 qrts games could be different.

We think you did it because you have had it with your offense and you were hoping to save a little from a physical standpoint for your D for their next road game half way across America in a high elevation.

What has got to be a complete surprise to CTG is the lack of quality depth on D. Like you said he is playing with the 1st string and few subs. If RG is holding the DL line out that is on the coaches. I expect to read any day that CTG and CRG are at each others throats.

The whole team has ADD. They can’t focus on their assignments on either side of the ball. Some guys can do it in practice but when the game starts they choke. We are choking big time on both sides of the ball.

Our offense is what it has been the entire Richt tenure, we just don’t have playmakers on either side of the ball with the exception of Aaron Murray. Murray is just not mature enough yet to carry the team. Watching Auburn and Alabama close out their games yesterday I saw player after player making crucial plays that decisively effected the outcome of those games, how about that interception in the endzone to end the Auburn-SC game? Does anybody doubt that no one among our current crop of players would have been able to come up with that INT the Auburn defender did? Offense is always hit or miss, you can’t hang your hat on it, especially in our league. The year we went 13-1 and won the conference and the Sugar Bowl we beat SC 13-7 and the difference was the miracle interception by David Pollack. We have no David Pollack right now. In 1980 we beat SC 13-10 or something like that and the difference was one play where Herschel Walker just outran everybody to the end zone with pure athletic talent, we beat Clemson that same year only because Scott Woerner ran back a punt return and an interception for TD’s (or to the one or two yard line), Clemson kicked our behind physically and statistically even with the great Herschel Walker. The only Georgia team in my life time that could score almost at will was the 1992 team, with Zeier at QB, Andre Hastings at WR, and Garrison Hearst at TB, unfortunately everyone else’s offense could also score at will against us because our defense was terrible and so we had to play a lot of shootouts and ended up losing 2 games, that is still the worst waste of offensive talent I’ve ever seen, though 2005 and 2008 were pretty bad too, thanks Willy (if Richt can be blamed for anything it is letting Willy hang around 3-4 years too long, if he loses his job it will be because he allowed Willy to burn up all of his good will, when it was readily apparent from the WV Sugar Bowl game on that the guy was no DC). I say all that to say this: the ingredients to winning are 1) great defense (because no matter who you have on your team or who is calling the plays there is going to be some nights your offense doesn’t get it done either because they are playing a great D themselves (of which there are many in the SEC) or are just off their game) and 2) you need some playmakers/leaders on the roster, i.e. some guys you can count on to pull your butt out of the fire with great individual effort (A.J. is the only mature playmaker we have right now on either side of the ball, Murray is getting there, our great teams have had 5 or 6 of these types). I am willing to give Grantham the benefit of the doubt this year to shape our defense up and implement his scheme. Murray is going to be great, we need some playmakers to surround him with. As bad as I feel we are not that far off, we have won many an ugly game over the years that we could have easily lost like we did last night (anybody remember a 16-13 win over UAB in 2003??? The year before Herschel came we went 6-5 and two years before that we went 5-6, the line between winning and losing in our conference is ultra thin, it always has been and always will be. Richt has won these league twice and finished No. 2 in the country three years ago, he hasn’t forgotten how to coach, we just need to get our defense back to championship level and find those all important playmakers.

You make a good point, Brandon. It has occurred to me that Bobo has never been an OC with a roster comprised of average players. The plays and schemes are more important than in the past when Stafford, Moreno, Massaquoi, or Green could make a play even if the defense was stacked to stop it.

The other thing I wonder is about Murray’s audibles. What is he is simply too green to audible into the right play? For example, if MSU shows run blitz on a run down, and Murray audibles and they see it and drop into zone coverage, shouldn’t he be audibling, on a run down, into a draw play or toss around the end versus a pass into the zone?

I’ve thought the same thing about the audibling. You just can’t underestimate the problem of having an inexperienced QB creates, he’s going to be really good though, he’s already more mature from a simple decision making standpoint than Ryan Mallet who was forcing passes left and right in the Arkansas and Alabama game. He needs experience running the system in actual game situations and fully grasping all the nuances of the position like getting out of a bad play into a good one (Greene was awesome at checking at the line from his second season on if you remember). We’ll get there.

Harbaugh will never come to this side of the country. For one, he is an academic snob and wants to be at a top academic university. For another, he reputedly is unhappy with Michigan but as a Big Ten guy would love a shot at cleaning their clock at Purdue or Iowa or Northwestern or somewhere not named Ohio State or Michigan St.

I don’t think that’s accurate at all. I think it’s more likely that he thinks it’s b.s. that the eggheads at Stanford are whining about his salary increase when the campus community is facing tighter budgets. If the UGA was open and he was offered, he’s pretty much assured that there are no Nobel Prize winners complaining that he’s making more then they (at 1.25 mil/yr.)

Hey Brandon we agree about the offense and started complaining about it in JAX the last year of Stafford and Moreno. It came home to us back then.

We wanted to point out some observations about D in transition and where it may be. The question is where are they at this time of the season based on the first three games with very different offenses, veteran OCs, and veteran personnel.

What we see is that we do not have enough players. We think that was an issue against MSU and the spread offense which punishes a defense in alot of ways.

Now we hear that a freshman inside linebacker that did no travel was arrested last night for driving and drinking.

We pointed out the number of players MSU used on defense verses UGA. We thought the differential huge. Plus we thought the small number UGA used says something about the recruiting for that side of the ball, player development, game preparation and game plan.

The LBs and DBs are huge in the 3-4. Going into spring and fall the staff was there to have successful 3-4 scheme,or that is what we thought. We think it is good. Several other programs have gone to it. But we are still looking at it. From here out it will give us an answer.

You are short on players, leave one behind, and he gets arresed.

Will he be suspended, dropped or released from the scholarship. The scholarship is critical. Too many players think they are entitled to a scholarship. We differ. You need personnel and can not waste a scholarship with the number of programs out there. So now hold the scholarship, hold him from transferring to another school, and then drop him before signing. Make them earn the scholarship as they go forward.

We’ll comment about the offense latter, but when you see Thomas have the lane he had he should have had more than 12 yards. Good blocking, but blind running. We have seen at least one high school runner from Georgia, one from Alabama, and one from Mississippi this season that would have taken the handoff to the house.

McClendon and Lilly have to go. Their positions are not getting it done and are not productive. Look back at the TEs at FSU while Lilly was there. FSU never utilized the RB and TEs. We saw OU shut out CMR in a national title game. FSU never highly utilized the TE and RB in their system. Now you might begin to understand why we do not have production from these positions and get shut down on offense [ we use the “dial in”]. Even CMR said as much as to Diaz defensive coaching skills and abilities. You saw it last night. Like Evans was never our choice for AD, Diaz would have been our choice for the DC. We think he is a good fit for Mullen and his program.

Again Bobo gets shut down by a good DC.

UGA has the personnel to go to a hybrid spread. Mullen said this week Murray was recruited by UF. He is a little small, his foot work needs some work, but he has the athletic and passing ability to make a spread click well. Plus UGA has the TE. Look at Boise at those positons.
Enough said for now.

Will T. you have some interesting observations that you have obviously put some good thought into, kudos, but drop the “we” it makes you sound kooky like you were Gollum on the Lord of the Rings or something. Miss State beat us and we wept precious we wept.

Notice a senior FB [how many do you have to have at UGA] was moved to ILB shore up depth at that position. Baker, who was arrested, is a FR ILB, but did not travel.

R Samuels has been moved back and forth from offense to defense.

What is going on with the recruiting and the coaches. No wonder players drive and drink.

How long has Murray been in the program. After the MSU you can not say he is inexperienced now. We thought his performance last night was below expectations. But we have been waiting for it. 2 SEC games on the road against quality defenses.

Where are all those 4 and 5 * recruits? Where were all of those for MSU? We are getting out coached right now.

Mike Bobo finally said he did a poor job against MSU. What about those other 3. So far, from last year to this year, other than the last two regular season games of 09 what have the RBs done. Can not pass block, no break away ability, no speed to the edges, can not hold on to the ball, on scholarship but not available and ready for every game.

Lets take a look at the problems UGA is going to have getting a first rate HC leave a school where he has had success. Jim Harbaugh is not leaving Stanford for any place but the Big 10+ or USC when Kiffin gets them through probation. Peterson is not leaving BSU for an East Coast job. We could throw obscene amounts of money at Patterson and maybe he would leave TCU but those Texans have a lot of money. we could I’m sure retread Tubbs from TT but that is an awful idea. Phat Phil would jump at it but I want to shot myself for mentioning it. Kirby has burned bridges. Muschamp is set for like (in spite of the worst loss of the Mac Brown era to UCLA).

So we look a little smaller at some of the FCS coaches but the fear we have with this is that we end up with Donnan II.

I just hope that McGarity has a list of the guys that he thinks would make a great HC. If CMR can’t turn it around next year we will be on the long road back.

I have hurt for the Dawgs and coaching staff for the third straight week. It happens, folks! Somethimes you can’t keep the wheels on the wagon..oft times because the other team is playing better ball. Traditional bottom tier teams can get better just as top teams can play down. There are reasons and I’m sure..if we have time..our coaches will fix the problem. If not, I am heartened by the fact we have so many excellent coaches here on the blog that are willing to step up and coach 120 young men in the ways of the game. Get over it faint hearts and stay the course!! We are GEORGIA and we will find our way back..of course, you may leave the sinking ship at any time and your counterparts are doing. Go DAWGS!!!

He pointed this fact out he saw this afternoon on the internet about the states and the number of NFL players they have sent.

Calif…..211
Tx………181
Fl……….177
Ohio……85
Georgia.80

La………..68
Pa………..56
Al…………50
SC………..46

When CMR came on board you heard them all say there was enough of talent base within this state for a solid winning team every year. Maybe that is why Texas, Florida, and Ohio State win consistenly…there are enough numbers. But what about Alabama at 50 and South Carolina at 46.

There are only 2 D1 schools in this state. Where are the players lately at UGA? Where are they for the defense. How many players from Georgia do you see on other D1 programs. Too many lately because CMR has allowed it to happen with his system and coaches.

“What’s Greg McGarity thinking this morning? A month into the job and he’s had the hottest of hot potatoes drop into his lap. And as somebody who got to witness the Rise and Fall of the Zooker up close, the irony of last night’s venue can’t have been lost on him.”

Don’t have to get rid of Grantham, and you finally have an offensive coach with a track record of making inferior talent play lights out. He would find the athletes in the state of Georgia.

Athens > Lubbock, and he wouldn’t have to recruit against Texas, A&M, Baylor, Houston, TCU, SMU, etc. Not that they’re all great schools, but UGa is a de-facto member of the short list for a lot more talented players than Texas Tech ever was.

Long term solutions take a long time, so what can the Dawgs do in the short term to win? 1- Increase point production. The Dawgs are not scoring enough points to win. It’s that simple folks. Defenses are loading the box so play action and the power I aren’t cutting it. Some kind of spread is all I can see that might work. Go with two WRs and split one or two TEs or maybe Chapas out to spread the D and open some running lanes. Keep pass patterns short because any DC worth his salt will blitz a spread with a rookie QB at the helm. 2- I think the D will improve over time but UGA isn’t using all it’s weapons on D. Geathers needs to see the field more and more subs are needed to keep the D line fresh. 3- Malcome needs to play now. Forget about his blocking. Murray needs quick hitting patterns so he can get rid of the ball quicker. UGA has recievers that can run. Dump the ball off and let them make plays. 4- Keep Murray in the shotgun at least 80% of the time and let him roll out. Reading the safetys will tell him to run or throw. Murray ran that kind of spread in HS so it is second nature to him.

As a follow up to my post above, and hopefully to augment the case for Leach, who jsut two years ago was an option for EVERY major opening in America, tell me if you think the combined braintrust of Bobo, Searles, Lilly, etc. is capable of this level of thought:

“The basic idea here is that you have to make the defense cover the whole field,” Leach said as the film rolled. “Not just part of it. If you do it right, it makes life very difficult for them.” Instead of a dense, seemingly impenetrable offensive line, Tech’s linemen are spaced three to four feet apart, twice the norm, leaving enormous gaps that seem to invite tackles and linebackers to stroll right through them. The quarterback operates from the shotgun, and on most plays four or five receivers are spread across the breadth of the field. This creates huge amounts of space between players, making the whole thing look porous and vulnerable, even skeletal, until it swings into action. Which it does between 85 and 90 times a game. A typical offense snaps the ball 65 to 70 times a game, but Tech never huddles. It is all attack, all the time. Leach attempts few field goals and rarely punts, even when he is deep in his own territory. When the ball is snapped, you can see how the magic works. Receivers stretch the field from chalk to chalk, taking the defensive backs with them. The defensive linemen—who are forced to spread out too, lest they lose their rushing angles—must therefore attack from longer range, creating even more room. Suddenly the grid opens up, and the quarterback is looking at what Leach calls “pieces of space.” Lots of them.

See above. How about Mike Leach for OC. He is available and has had his income shut off. the litigation is dragging on and he needs a job. Pay him Grantham money and he’s ours. 1 year contract only. If it works, great. If not, sayonara.

Richt is simply not bringing in a new OC with new ideas. He has his offense, and he is convinced that it works when the players “execute”. Leach, Malzahn, whoever, are not coming here under any circumstance as long as Richt is our coach.

The only way it could happen is if the AD forces his hand, and if that happens he’s on his way out anyway. See Tuberville with Franklin for a perfect example.

I hope you are wrong mdr. In football, like in most things in life, change is inevitable. He who is unwilling or unable to change when circumstances require it is doomed. If CMR is unwilling to evolve, then maybe it is better for the Dawgs for him to be gone.

Leach can’t handle all aspects of the Georgia job. Jim Donnan would have been here longer if he just knew how to be a SEC head coach. It might not be the top job in the league, but Georgia isn’t the hinterlands of Texas Tech. You’ve got to be able to play the glad-hand game here on top of it all.

As always, Leach had an uncanny ability to produce brilliant quarterbacks. In his first three years, the lightly recruited Kliff Kingsbury became only the fourth player in college history to throw for 3,000 yards three times. He was followed by fifth-year senior B. J. Symons, who set a single-season college record for passing yards (5,833). Next came a fifth-year walk-on named Sonny Cumbie, who also led the nation in passing. He was followed by Cody Hodges, a quarterback with a below-average arm, who led the nation’s number one offense and threw for 643 yards against Kansas State, the fifth-best performance in NCAA history. Leach’s most recent quarterback, Graham Harrell, was the best of all: In three seasons as a starter he passed for 15,738 yards, second all-time in the NCAA, and set the college record for touchdown passes (134). Those quarterbacks became famous for their ability to put up implausibly large numbers of points very quickly. In the 2006 Insight Bowl, against Minnesota, Tech trailed the Golden Gophers 38—7 with 7:47 to go in the third quarter. Harrell and the offense calmly proceeded to rack up 31 unanswered points in less than twenty minutes, then won the game in overtime, 44-41. In 2004, against a ranked and unbeaten TCU team, Tech trailed 21-0 near the end of the first half. Under Cumbie the Red Raiders scored three times before the half and seven more times in the second, winning 70-35. This was football in the Leach era.

Perhaps most impressive of all was that Leach was doing this with players that most of his rivals did not want. Except for Harrell, his quarterbacks were not courted by other major football schools. Most of his recruits could properly be described as rejects. In fact, Texas Tech was typically fourth in line—at best—for players in the phenomenally fertile Texas market. Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M all took precedence, as did other Big 12 universities.

You sold me anyway–but for Leach as OC not HC. The problem with Leach was and is he’s a little flaky (I sure wouldn’t want him to be the face and spokesman for the Dawgs) and he’s never won anything because of bad D. Offensive genius though.

A little flaky??? He is like a french pastry flaky. I’ve met him and believe it or not he just seems to be very timid. I spotted him coming out of a restaurant in Key West where he is living (got to do the pirate thing). I spoke to him and he came over and talked to me for a few minutes. He has fond remembrances of Georgia from his time at VSU. When I said I was a UGA fan he said he had gotten to meet Erk Russell and really liked him. Anyway he is quirky but he is a great Offensive mind.

*tongue in cheek* These losses are because we have turned from the path laid out for us:

“Thou shalt select from the bulldogs of the land a firstborn pup, a white male, without infirmity or blemish, and shall sit him upon the field. Do this and thou shalt smite thy foe.”

Replace Russ now! *tongue in cheek*

Ok, in seriousness, a few thoughts:
1) I know people get upset at having Carlton Thomas run between the tackles, but he’s the sort of back that, if you can get any push at all, can pick his way through the lines as your line opens gaps as some push forward further and faster than others. It can certainly work, it just requires a line that pushes people around.
2) Related to 1), my main complaint is that I don’t see any Dawgs pushing anyone around, on offense or defense. I mean, there were plays where they did push people around, it’s just that they were few and far between.
3) Murray is very talented and I’m excited about seeing him long-term. But we need to be running something closer to a spread right now with the meager O-line production. Put White and Charles in the slot every now and then for mismatches, and try to force D’s to stop stacking the box.

This. No matter what you can say about the positives (?) and negatives of Bobo and by extension, CMR, this issue is most concerning. How can they not identify this most obvious problem and not deal with it?

Er…TD…I really want to agree with you about Van Halenger, but….. trouble is….. several of those names you got listed above are playing for NFL teams now. Kinda undermines the “didn’t develop them” argument, don’tcha think?

I hate to beat the Coach BVG drum again, but it seems like physicality was another thing that left this team when he left. I remember when LSU dominated us physically in the 2003 SEC championship game – that was the exception, not the rule, and it put enough of a chip on the team’s shoulder to where we demolished them in 2004. Now we seem to get softer every year.

Coach Van is a father figure to the boys, what we need is a guy like a USMC drill instructor. He doesn’t need to cuss but he needs to work them till they puke more than once a year in February. I watched the mat drill show on Fox and what a let down that was. My Army Basic Training was worst than that x3 and it was 8 weeks not one. No wonder Richt kept it under wraps so long, what a let down. Coach Van is too senior to put the fear of anything into the boys so he like Mark try to get them to love him. Sorry folks but nobody loves Little Nicky for any thing other than winning. UF loves Urban for the same reason.

A suggestion for CMR when it gets rough…the pucker factor ramps up…tight 360…strap it on…take no prisoners…go balls to the walls…time to start rolling hard to the objective…scorch all of them on the way in and out…our will against their will and our will will win.